Fall From Grace
by The Lady Hawkfeather
Summary: Okay, so the title isn't great. Anyway, this is just my take on the battle with Volvagia. I figured I'd do something other than Dark Link.


Fall From Grace

Fall From Grace

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This is it, thought Link. _No turning back now._ Link took a deep breath of hot, sulfurous air, drew his sword and settled his shield on his arm, and took a step forward. As an afterthought, he made sure the hammer was readily accessible, since it seemed that he would need it to defeat the Guardian. He stepped forward, gathering his courage, and opened the door.

He found himself in a strangely designed room. He was on a high platform, with a nearly round stone platform studded with pools of lava in the middle of a lake of fire. A stone pillar provided a stepping stone down to the lower platform. The heat in the room seemed more intense than it had been outside, and Link wiped the sweat from his brow. His cool blue eyes moved searchingly across the room. He expected something, though he wasn't exactly sure what. He waited a few more moments, then cautiously moved forward to investigate. He jumped down to the stepping stone, and from there to the arena.

As soon as his feet landed on the floor, though, he heard a grinding sound. He whirled around, expecting a huge monster of some sort, and saw that the platform was sinking into the lava, effectively cutting off his escape route. He swallowed nervously, and gripped his sword a little tighter. He jumped suddenly when he heard the sound of lava bubbling upwards, and turned to find the source, wondering if he had run into a trap. Flame colored lava was bubbling out of the pool in the center of the platform. The floor began to shake, and the lava bubbled more fiercely all around him.

Quite suddenly, the lava seemed to geyser upwards. Link jumped back as a wave of heat struck him, and almost lost his footing. A drop of lava landed on his arm, burning through his shirt and skin. He righted himself in time to see the dragon streak upwards with a high-pitched scream. Volvagia turned several times in the air, flying though he had no wings, and hovered, staring at Link.

The Guardian of the Fire Temple was far more fearsome than Phantom Ganon had been. For one thing, he was enormous, his arms as long as Link was tall and his head, with its long white teeth, was huge. His entire body was covered in red, orange, and gold scales. Link could feel the heat radiating off of them. His claws were white and curved as were those of a hawk. Volvagia's gaze was fixed on Link, and his eyes were like green gems.

Link stood watching the dragon with a sense of awe. He was like a huge shimmering serpent, twining through the air. He was frozen until he suddenly realized the Volvagia was headed right towards him. Link threw himself to one side and rolled out of the way. Volvagia dove straight down into the pool of lava near where Link had been standing, and within seconds he was gone. Then one of the other pools began to bubble, and the floor to shake, and Link prepared for battle.

The dragon shot out of the lava, throwing fire all around him, and circled until he was high in the air. He hung there for a moment, and then spiraled lazily downward. He fixed his gaze on Link, who stood ready to fight, and let loose a breath of flame. Link, who had been ready to strike the dragon as it flew by, turned and ran, trying to get away from the fire Volvagia was spitting at him. He could feel the heat of it on his back, threatening to burn even the flame-resistant tunic. Volvagia chased him in two complete circles of the platform before diving back into the lava.

Link was scared now. He had no idea of how to deal with an enemy that didn't give him a chance to go in with his sword. He pulled out his bow and arrows, though he guessed that they wouldn't do any good against an armored creature. _I guess it's worth a try, _he thought desperately. He notched an arrow to the string and watched the dragon as he shot upwards again. As Volvagia circled lower, Link took aim with his bow and let loose an arrow. It hit the dragon's side and clattered uselessly to the floor. Link tried again, aiming at the face, but was not successful. He put away his bow and arrows and drew his sword again.

This time he was ready when the flames roared towards him. He jumped out of the way of the first burst, forcing Volvagia to turn in his flight to try again. Link just barely managed to avoid a bad burn before the dragon dove downwards again. Link wiped sweat from his forehead and looked around to see where Volvagia would surface again. He spotted the pool and moved in a bit closer.

This time, instead of flying high into the air, Volvagia only stuck his head and front feet out of the pool. He turned his head every which way, as if he could not see and was trying to center on Link. Link stood off to one side, unsure of what to do. It seemed like Volvagia couldn't see him, but he wasn't sure it was a good idea to go in and try to hit him. Link steeled himself and ran in, sword raised, to deliver a blow to the dragon's fire-maned head.

Link sliced downward with his sword as hard as he could, hoping for a scream of pain from the dragon. Instead, the dragon's skull proved to be as hard as rock, and Link's whole arm shook with the impact. Volvagia centered on Link, took a deep breath, and blew fire towards him. Link dodged to the side at the last moment, but that didn't keep his right arm from being burned. He screamed as the fire ripped through his shirt to his flesh, and dropped his shield to the ground. Volvagia screamed in response and disappeared beneath the earth again.

Link cradled his singed arm and tried to think of something, anything, that might save him. _The hammer,_ he thought. How could he have been so stupid? Of course he needed the Megaton Hammer to beat Volvagia. That was why he had gotten it, after all. He pulled it out and held it in both hands, his left arm taking most of its weight. He would have to wait until Volvagia sat still for long enough for him to hit him with it. Maybe the hammer was strong enough to crack the dragon's skull.

Link's wish was granted when Volvagia once again stuck his head and arms out of the pool. This time, since he was sure now that the dragon was temporarily blinded, Link didn't hesitate. He ran up from the side and pounded the dragon over the head with the hammer. Link felt the shock as the hammer met with Volvagia's skull, and Volvagia's scream split his eardrums. Link jumped back as the Guardian clasped his head with his claws and convulsed in pain. His fiery mane whipped out around him. He collapsed for a moment, and Link dodged in to pound him with the hammer again. Volvagia let out a weaker cry and slid back underneath the platform.

After that, the arena was quiet for several minutes. The only sound Link heard was that of the lava gurgling around him. For a moment he wondered if that was all there was to it. But the answer was no, since no blue light came to collect him and no heart container appeared. He waited for a sign of the dragon's reappearance, and when there was none took a good look at his arm. It was burned badly, but the Sages could probably heal it…

Suddenly, Link was startled by a sound from behind. Volvagia shot out of the ring of lava surrounding the platform and flew to the ceiling of the cave. Link wondered what he was doing, and stood alert for anything the dragon could throw his way. A moment later, boulders of all sizes began falling around him. He had to keep moving, watching the shadows, to avoid being hit by flaming debris. Volvagia, meanwhile, was slowly circling downward, toward him.

Volvagia suddenly turned and stooped, like a falcon with claws outstretched, towards Link. Link waited until the last minute to dodge out of the way, leaving Volvagia confused and desperately trying to gain altitude. A large boulder fell on Volvagia's back, and, though it didn't actually hurt the dragon, it did stun him momentarily giving Link time to go in with the hammer. He struck once, twice, and then Volvagia collapsed to the floor shivering.

Link stood over the fallen Guardian. Blood seeped out of the dragon's head, and the skull had been dented and shattered. All in all, it was a bloody mess. Link pulled his sword out of the sheath and raised it. The dragon looked up at him, its green eyes pleading, all of the fight taken out of it.

"What are you?" it asked. Link ignored it. He raised the sword over his head and brought it down with a swift chop. It sliced through the shattered skull and into the dragon's brain. Volvagia screeched and leapt upward, convulsing in pain. His scales, once fireproof, burst into flame. The smell of burning flesh filled the air and Link had to cover his nose to breathe. With a final cry, Volvagia fell to the ground. What had once been a majestic Fire Guardian was reduced to a heap of charred remains. The once lustrous eyes were dull and vacant.

A blue light glowed in the center of the platform. Link ignored it. Instead, he knelt beside the dragon's body and wept silently, cradling his injured arm. The Guardian's words echoed in his thoughts.

"What am I?" he asked himself. "Am I a killer?" He knelt and wept there for several minutes, grieving for the dragon, his childhood, and his innocence. What had happened to the part of him that would never have killed; the boy who, instead of killing a wayward spider, helped it outside? Was that part of him gone? And if it was, what did that make him?

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A/N: Well, that's it. If you liked this story, or if you just like dragons in general, you should read my fic "Pain and Remedy", which is about Volvagia's true past. Hope you liked the story! ~DragonFeather


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